Yesterday, Dell announced they were pruning their sales department. An initial response came from a former employee who wrote, “Dell was not your home – nor will your next employer be home.”  

Having worked for Dell, on-site in Round Rock, Texas, I somewhat disagree with the statement. It makes sense that one shouldn’t prioritize their work over their family, friends, and personal needs; however, Dell’s culture, especially when it came to their sales teams, turned dreary rabbit warrens of cubicles into meccas of merriment.

What?

When I was at Dell, salespeople were dedicated to specific verticals, such as K-12, higher education, and healthcare. Large teams were divided into smaller ones with everyone, within a team, working together to drive the success of their associates, and surpass the accomplishments of other teams.  

To boost team spirit, managers would have monthly competitions, ranging from shopping cart and tricycle races to “Fear Factor” challenges. Plus, teams were encouraged to decorate their workspaces. I remember seeing yards of black fabric draped over a collection of cubicles, turning them into a bat cave. And yes, they had contests to determine the best decorated cubes.

As the marketing manager for Dell Professional Services, I’d make a giant bowl of buttery popcorn, and sit near the sales floor. If a salesperson successfully answered a question about how to explain professional services, they’d get rewarded with a bowl of popcorn.

The goal was to engage and enthuse salespeople, bolstering their confidence, rewarding their persistence, and making them the heroes in sales transactions. And it worked.

It also made the sales floor a home, away from home with coworkers applauding each other’s successes, and offering a helping hand when associates were having a bad day (or week).

I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at Dell because of the supportive environment and the focus on customers rather than personal achievements.

One definition of home is “an environment offering security and happiness.” It’s also a “refuge or place you want to return over and over.”

There was a time when people worked at the same company for decades and were rewarded with a gold watch as they said their good-byes to colleagues and the place they may have called home, during the workday.

Saying “your workplace is not your home” masks the callousness of dispensing with employees. It’s a cop-out. And it marginalizes the repercussions of one losing their job, which coincidently could lead to their loss of both places they once called home.

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